Women Who Fought to Become Faith Leaders

A MINISTER from Belsize Park has put together the stories of women of all faiths who chose to take up the cloth.

Uta Blohm has compiled testimonies from rabbis, ministers and priests for her book Religious Traditions and Personal Stories which is published this week.

The Lutheran minister (Uta Blohm), who lives in Belsize Park Gardens, spent six years researching the paths that different women across London and the southeast have taken to become ordained….

…”My advice to any woman who is considering a career as a rabbi, a priest or a minister would be to follow your dreams,” she said. “But be prepared for the road ahead, be prepared to dedicate your life and be ready for those surprised faces and the looks of shock.”

Her research revealed there were as many advantages as problems encountered by the women members of the clergy.

“Some people actually go out of their way to make sure that they get a man to conduct their service. But on the flip side, some people specifically ask for a woman to do the service. There are many advantages for lady rabbis and priests, for a start many women feel more comfortable discussing certain matters with another woman.”

Rene Butlervia Ham&High 24, UK

Analysis:

There is a reason why women who seek to become “church leaders” are received with “surprised faces and looks of shock.”

It is because it is difficult to understand why women who supposedly are devoted to the Bible as God’s word would do something that is so contradictory to what the Bible teaches.

“Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence” (1 Timothy 2:11-12).

“Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church” (1 Corinthians 14:34-35).

For centuries Christians recognized the restrictions God placed upon women regarding their place in His church. It is His church, not ours, and His will in this should be respected. Even if it amazes these “free-thinkers”, it will always be true that some will respect God’s will in this matter.